ROMANCE: Mason (Bad Boy Alpha Male Stepbrother Romance Boxset) (New Adult Contemporary Stepbrother Romance Collection) (158 page)

Colt’s body changed suddenly, the movement awkward and jerky, but lighting fast. The ripping of fabric sounded and his clothes fell to the floor. His face changed shape and where his bared teeth had been he now had a muzzle with fangs that snapped. His body was covered in black fur the same color his hair was, and his eyes were just as black as the animals he was facing.

The realization hit me physically, ever time I’d thought he looked wired or wild falling into place. Colton was a werewolf. A powerful, majestic one, oozing authority and warning. The creatures attacked together, launching at him. He had two of them on him, one chewing at his throat, the other on his back with claws in his skin. His wolf’s body was large and muscular, very unlike a wolf. He was quick and he knew how to handle himself. He managed to wrestle the one creature off and bite it in the neck, hard. The creature exploded in a cloud of black mist. The witch screamed with an eerie howl that sliced through me.

Colt spun around and managed to bite the other creatures back leg, yanking it off him with a quick snap. The creature had no chance and it knew. Colt bit into it, and it too exploded. The witch shrieked again.

“This won’t be the last you see of us,” she sneered at Colt. She nudged her partner with her toe in a manner that looked more like a kick, and he got up, looking dazed. He kept his eyes on Colt’s wolf. The woman grabbed his arm and they disappeared together, leaving fog behind that stung my eyes and burned my chest when I breathed.

I coughed and rubbed my eyes, trying to get the burn to go. It felt like I’d been sprayed with mace.

When I opened my eyes again, Colt stood in front of me, human again. His clothes were torn and he’d pulled on my robe which stretched across his body in a comical way, but I didn’t care.

“Are you alright?” he asked.

“Me? Oh my god, what about you?” I asked, looking him up and down. He pulled me into him, and his warm body was safe. “You’re a werewolf,” I said into his shoulder. He breathed deeply and I could feel him nodding.

“I’m sorry,” he said. “About all of it.”

I shook my head. “Don’t be sorry.”

“You’re not mad? Or shocked? Or something…?” he asked, sounding uncertain. I shook my head and took his hand in mine.

“Just relieved you’re here,” I admitted. He looked like he wasn’t sure of my words, but I gave his hand a little squeeze and smiled at him until his face softened and he smiled back at me.

“We can fix this. You can come back. After this I know I need you.”

He shook his head. “I can’t angel. I’m sorry. After this I’ll be fired for sure. I wasn’t allowed to come close to you. Because of our little scandal.”

The nickname he used for me distracted me from the rest of his words. I felt warm, like something inside me was defrosting.

“What now?” I asked.

“Now I’ll have to find another way to look after you,” he said wrapping his arms around my body. He kissed me on my forehead and we stood like that between the shards of glass and the traces of darkness that still hung in the air, a beacon of light.

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BONUS

THE BODYGUARD WOLF RETURNS

By Sicily Duval

Colt

Not being bodyguard anymore was hard. I’d trained most of my life to serve and protect, and my routines included protecting my charge, training to protect my charge, and resting so that I would be fresh enough to train and protect my charge.

It sounded like I was obsessed, but werewolves were creatures of duty, and I was goal oriented, too.

After I’d broken into the Mansion and managed to save Gemma from the witch and her ‘intern’, Mike reported to the agency that I’d been there. He was out to get me removed completely, and the agency believed him, not only because other servants were called in too but because was a guard they were inclined to believe no matter what.

I didn’t really care. Gemma was safe, and I’d been the one to make sure of that. I’d been restless that night, not in the small apartment I’d gotten a couple of blocks away, but walking the streets of Beverly Hills. My blood had been boiling, and my skin had felt itchy. Magic had been in the air, stronger than it should have been so soon after new moon.

I’d gone to the Mansion because I’d been unable to stay away. The guard at the gate had been asleep. It wasn’t like Kyle to fall asleep on duty, and it had made me suspicious. When I’d gone toward the house, hiding in the trees, the man on guard on Gemma’s balcony had left his post and not come back.

Wrong.

I’d watched her windows. Nothing. But I hadn’t been able to get rid of the feeling that something was terribly wrong. I’d taken a walk around the house, checking other doors and windows, trying to see if anything was out of place, but everything had been fine. When I’d come back round, her window had been broken and I could feel magic coming from the balcony like a wave. I hadn’t wasted any time. I’d jumped up there and gotten in through the broken glass just in time to see two creatures ready to attack.

The rest had been animal instinct taking over. I couldn’t remember much about the rest of it. The only thing I had memory of again, was afterward. When Gemma was alright. I’d collected her in my arms because I’d realized how much more it would hurt me to lose her. The loss of her father had been a living hell. I’d lost the one man that had accepted me for who I was, and mentored me, taught me to use my power to my advantage. But with Gemma… I cared for her more than I cared for anyone else, and the idea of losing her because I’d failed was more than I could bear.

The Mansion was quiet, a dark shadow behind the trees.

“You alright?” Kyle called form the gate.

“Just taking a walk,” I answered him and waved. He waved back. I was friends with most of the staff at the mansion, but unfortunately their jobs came first. Even though we were on good terms, he wouldn’t let me in. And I wasn’t going to ask him. I knew what it would be like for him to have to say no to me because it was his job.

I knew that Gemma wasn’t my charge anymore, and it was partly my fault.

All I had to do now was find another way to look after her, so that she would be my charge again. If only I could be with her all the time, make sure she was alright. That night after the attack, I’d held her in my arms and pressed my lips against her forehead. The smell of her hair had been in my nostrils and it had been a relief to know, to feel, the she was safe and in one piece.

I thought back to the day she’d kissed me. Her lips one mine… I could still feel it. I didn’t agree with the concept that I wouldn’t be able to take care of her if we were more than just a guard and his charge. Loving Gemma… I took a deep breath. I’d been trained that these feelings weren’t allowed. But was that what I felt for her? I definitely couldn’t label it as anything else. Loving Gemma meant that I had every reason in the world to look after her. It wasn’t just about her father, about the witches wanting her, and my promise that I would take care of her.

It was about her now.

I jammed my hands into my pocket and hunched my shoulders against the chilly air. If I were on duty I’d be heading out with her now. On Tuesdays she had a training session in the evening with the trainer from Austria. But I knew she’d canceled this one because she’d pulled a muscle. It was the only reason I wasn’t on high alert outside the private gym.

I walked back to my own apartment. It was quite some distance, and the night grew darker. This part of Los Angeles was quiet, with only the dim glow of the houses in the neighborhood telling me the people were home. I walked through the commercial area, and looked up at the glowing windows of the private gym. A lot of the celebrities came here to train.

A shadow moved in the corner of my eye, and before I could register it and react, something hit me from the left. I tumbled to the ground, a hot body pinning me down. A man sat on top of me, heavily muscled. His knees were on my elbows and it hurt, and I couldn’t love. I tried to kick up with my legs, but he grinned.

“Let’s not fight, wolf,” he said with a sneer. “I’m not here for your blood.”

“Pity, it would have been fun to dig in for once,” another voice said and I tipped my head up. A man stood there, looking down at me. I felt like I couldn’t breathe, like I was choking. His weight on top of me was partly to blame, but there was magic in the air, thick and in a way toxic.

“Shucking your responsibilities?” the guy on top of me asked. He pushed his hand against my throat and I only had a gurgle in response to his question.

“I really thought Miss LaGrange’s guard would be better than this,” the other man said to the one on top of me like I wasn’t even there. “Saul said it had been a hell of a fight that last time, but this was easy.”

“Saul doesn’t know what he’s talking about. What with him looking like a toothpick I don’t care what he can shift into. He’s a waste of space.”

I gathered they were talking about the shifter that had attacked us in the alley, but I couldn’t be sure. Not being able to breathe well enough was taking its toll on me and black spots had started dancing in my vision.

“Well, then,” the guy sitting on top of me said. “Where is she?”

I blinked hard and focused on sucking in enough air. I ground my teeth together, circling my jaw. I wanted to change, but with the weight on me and the lack of oxygen I couldn’t turn my focus inward. I couldn’t take it off the brute on top of me for long enough.

Suddenly he rolled off me and grabbed me by the collar. He yanked me up and I wondered what kind of magic he was wielding. He was very strong. Witches tended to use their magic, so they weren’t very strong, although their magic made them dangerous. Shifters used the creatures they could shift into as their strength, although I’ve seen some strong ones. But this? The guy wasn’t leaving me much of a chance at all, and considering how hard I trained that wasn’t easy.

“Where is she?” he asked again, pushing his face right against mine. His breath smelted of rot and decay and his eyes were an off brown that promised pain. I grabbed his wrists.

“She’s at home,” I said weakly. “This is… my night off.”

I didn’t want them to know that she didn’t have me anymore. They would go after her then, knowing nothing supernatural stood in their way.

He narrowed his eyes at me.

“He’s lying,” the other one said with a sneer, but the guy let me go, setting me down roughly and crossing his arms.

“He’s not lying,” he barked. “He’s just not telling us the whole truth. I can smell it.”

So they were a type of shifter. Shifters could smell emotion almost the way werewolves could.

“You better watch your back, wolf. Next time we won’t play so nice.”

He turned and walked away, his companion falling into step next to him. Never show your enemy your back, that was what I’d learned, but they didn’t see me as a threat. He was sure comfortable having me at his back. And that was trouble.

I turned and ran. I had to get to Gemma. There were times when everything was chaotic in my head, when I wasn’t sure what I had to do or how I had to do it. This wasn’t one of those times. Everything was clear, and I knew how I could save her. It didn’t matter that this was a double-motive. If it hadn’t been for me, if I hadn’t had at least some sort of part in this, Gemma would still be safe. This was my fault, and I was going to fix it.

I ignored the fact that I was doing it for the wrong reasons.

At the Mansion I scaled the wall. I’ve told Kyle countless times that his walls weren’t impenetrable. Someone could get in. As a human,  he didn’t believe me. Human were scared off by electric fencing and security cameras, patrolling guards and dogs. Supernatural creatures weren’t.

I got over the fence, jumped to the ground and landed soft like a cat. The guard that patrolled the perimeter with his dog wasn’t paying attention. His dog had a reaction to me, ears up, a low rumbling growl in its throat. I was in the bushes and I curled my lips back, answering with a similar growl. The dogs ears pulled back and the head went down. Dominance. I’d won. It knew what I was.

I crept in the dark to the house and slipped past the guard at the front door. Gemma had upped her security since the attack. I was relieved, but in a way I knew it didn’t make a difference. If I could do this, so could someone else.

She was in her room. I could smell her. I climbed onto the balcony. There were no guards on duty yet. She wasn’t going to bed. I paused at the glass to listen, to feel. A moment later I knew she was in the room alone, but Mike was nearby. Perhaps outside her door.

I opened the door.

Gemma got a fright, stiffening, and turned.

“Colt?” she said in a soft voice when she recognized me, and the fear left her body.

I walked to her and wrapped my arms around her, pulling her body against mine. She had questions in her eyes but she didn’t ask them. I kissed her, full on the lips, and she sighed, her body melting into mine. Kissing her was like being able to breathe again after suffocating. Like having a drink of water after days in a desert with nothing.

“Marry me,” I said when I broke the kiss. She blinked at me.

“What?”

“Marry me, Gemma,” I said. It wasn’t a question, and it wasn’t romantic, but right then it was more than I’d thought I wanted, than I thought she needed. It was what I needed.

“Colt, we can’t just… I don’ t even really…” she breathed out in a shudder. She looked around the room and I could see her thinking.

“Do you love me?” I asked. Her eyes snapped back to me and I wasn’t sure if she was offended or surprised.

“Colt…”

“Do you love me?” I asked again. “Because I love you. And I don’t mean in a creepy way, but how long have we been spending time together? Years can do that to a person. If you love me, and I love you, then I can’t see why not.”

“But I don’t understand—“

“It feels wrong being away from you. I’ve spent the last three years at your side, and now I’m not there and it feels like something is missing. You can’t tell me you don’t feel it too.

“I could feel her hesitation. The questions burning inside of her. But her eyes were a warm brown and her hair hung loose, framing her face with soft curls.

“There are so many things we’ll have to explain,” she said.

“We’ll give Hollywood something to talk about. I don’t care.”

She took a deep breath, and then she nodded.

“Okay,” she said. She stepped into me, hugging me. I closed my arms around her again, and sighed.

Finally. She would be safe.

Gemma

In Hollywood it’s better just not to make a fuss. There are the celebrities that have huge weddings with countless guests and expenses through the roof. But I wasn’t like that. I could afford it, sure. And there were more than enough people that would have attended had I asked them.

But I didn’t want that.

Everything about Colt was discreet. He didn’t seem like the type that threw himself open for the rest of the world to ogle at. And that was fine by me.

We got married in a court in Reno, where we didn’t have to wait for the application of a marriage license, and we’d done it like any other ordinary couple. A few people had looked at me twice like they weren’t sure it was me, the famous singer, but I ignored them.

When it was over Colt and I sat in a motel, drinking champagne in celebration.

“This is by far the craziest thing I’ve ever done,” I said to him. “I don’t just jump like this with my eyes closed, you know. Here I am, after the scandal in the tabloids, suddenly married to my former bodyguard.”

Colt shrugged and smiled at me. He put his empty champagne glass down and walked to me, taking me in his arms. He kissed me. Our third kiss together was as a married couple. It was bizarre.

But his lips on mine were warm and reassuring. I’d agreed to get married because he’d been so intense when he’d asked me. His black eyes had burned into me, so deep I’d fallen into them, and his declaration that he loved me had swept me off my feet. And why shouldn’t I have? I didn’t know him very well, but I did know that having him at my side was right.

I’d felt the same thing, when he’d been fired I’d felt his absence like a missing limb.

His kiss changed, became urgent. He slid his tongue into my mouth, and I kissed him back. His hands slide up and down my body, and everywhere his fingers touched me it felt like I was one fire. He was a werewolf. I knew now that he was. And still it didn’t matter, because every part of him that I knew was human, like me.